


Greetings From California

by Drizzim



Category: Game Grumps, NSP - Fandom, Ninja Sex Party - Fandom, Starbomb
Genre: Alcohol, F/M, Loneliness, Moving, New Town, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:33:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6669769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drizzim/pseuds/Drizzim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After climbing slowly but steadily up the ladder at her job, Jade Faust is required to move out to the L.A. area for some business, but suddenly loses her job after moving into a apartment with a small budget that might last a month at most, being stranded out in L.A. with no friends or family; a complete stranger to this vast city full of more culture than she's ever been exposed to. Little did she know that she ended up renting an apartment next to a certain Grump...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Jade, are you sure-"

"Yes, Henry, I'm fine. I assure you, this whole move is going to go without a problem!" Jade exclaimed into the phone, exiting from the airport and looking around. Her body shook lightly with anxiety and excitement at the same time, and she was delighted to finally be in Los Angeles, but scared at the same time. Many, many things could go wrong in this moment, or at any other moment to be pessimistic.

"Just checking again, girl. I can't move out to help you anymore, and chances of me helping you are slim to none from here on out." Jade heard him sigh over the phone and rolled her eyes, despite him not being able to see. "Don't worry, I won't get screwed over by my job. Besides, it's wonderful out here!"

"I'm sure it is, but literally anything could go wrong, J-...de..." The phone started to break up, and Jade heard a crackled groan from the phone. "Ja-...de?... I-... Call you... S-...oon." Not even bothering to struggle to say goodbye, Jade hung up, and put her phone in her pocket. A sigh of annoyance left her lips before she looked around the Bob Hope airport, watching the other people swarm around her. Some were returning to their home city of L.A., and sighed at the slow pace of the visitors, while others busied around, talking to family members about where they were going and where their rides were. Jade felt the judgement of several people as she stood in the way, gaining her focus back with a light blush on her face. Moving from the area of traffic, she followed the flow of the other citizens, ending up near a car rental.

Jade sighed in relief, muttering, "Thank god.." under her breath. She pulled out her phone and her wallet, bringing out money before unlocking her smartphone and reviewing the directions to her already rented out apartment. Stepping inside, she stood in line to rent a car for the next few days until she could visit a car dealership with the money her job gave her to start off in L.A. She had decided that the course of action would be to rent a car and park it as close as she could to the luggage pickup.

* * *

Closing the trunk with her bags in hand, Jade struggled to pull her car keys from her pocket, the bags in her hands threatening to fall out of her grasp. She had already brought her other bags into the apartment, texting Henry back between trips from the apartment to the car to get more bags. It had taken her three trips to get all of her luggage, once dropping some of it and having it tumble down the steps, so she supposed it was three and a half trips in total. As Jade was not the strongest person, her arms ached with the weight of all of the bags as she stumbled up the steps with much difficulty, almost tripping on her own feet and the bags she was carrying.

Finally, she reached the door to her apartment, awkwardly shuffling in and closing the door behind her after pressing the lock button on her car keys. She threw the bags she was carrying next to the other ones that were already in the small living space, sighing heavily and stretching, her shoulders cracking after her workout. She was very pleased with her current living space, with maybe some minor touch ups needed here and there. Overall, it was a large but bare living space, one that she could deal with until she saved up more money for an actual permanent home, possibly a town house. A smile was planted on her face as she realized, _I'm finally in L.A.. My dream city._ It left her with a small buzz of happiness.

Her daydreaming ended as a crash came from the living room, making her freeze. _The apartment was locked before I came... No one could be in here..._ she thought before scrambling to her purse for her mace and slowly stepping around the bend. "W-Who's there..?" Her voice shook, looking around, stepping farther into the room, terrified that anyone or anything could pop up at any minute. There was no reply. _Of course there's no reply! What robber would reply to the person they were robbing...?!_

But the living room was empty.

With a sigh of relief, but paranoia still dwelling in her system, Jade checked in any possible hiding place in the living room before moving to the bathroom and her room. Nothing. Not even in the shower, the closet, or under the bed, as if something could fit under that tiny space other than a small shoe box. She shook her head and dismissed it, giving a heavy sigh and groaning at herself. _You're just paranoid, its a new city, new neighborhood, new home-_

She cut herself off with her own shriek as something brushed her ankle.

* * *

  
"So... You found a cat? In your home?"

"Yes, and he's adorable! Or she... I can't tell, he- she-... it won't let me flip it over, or lay down long enough for me to see." Jade was sitting in a chair at the small table in the kitchen, and the cat had jumped up on the table, making the table its resting place. The cat meowed loudly at Jade, patting its paws in front of it, almost begging to be pet. _How strange..._

"Jade, I don't know if a cat is a good idea, especially after you just moved in-"

"Nonsense! I love animals and this one is no exception. Even though it won't let me love him- it, exactly..." She stared at the black and white cat, intrigued with his almost cow print-like fur. "I don't know how he got into my house though..."

"You mean it."

"Yes, it. The cat."

"Probably through a window or opening... Like I said, you might want to wait a little before you get an animal..."

"But where is he-"

"It."

A sigh of annoyance. "...Where is it going to go, Henry?"

"Well, I hate to tell you, but a shelter or back outside are a few of the slim options-"

"No, no, no. Definitely not. N. O. I'm not putting an animal in a shelter, and I am not shoving him- IT... out of this home. It was here before me!"

"But did it help you pay the rent while you reserved the house for you while moving out to good ol' Cali?"

"...That's not the point, Henry."

Jade heard a very, VERY audible sigh from the phone, and could almost hear Henry rolling his eyes.

"I know you love animals, but this is way out of your depth. But fine, fine, fine. If you want a cat, then by all means, take him under your wing."

"You mean it, Henry. Not him."

"...Anyway, I did not call you to converse about your new found cat-"

"Well, you did call and asked me what has happened so far, so yes, you did call to converse about my new found cat. I think I'll name him..."

"Dennis."

"No, Henry, what kind of name is Dennis? Besides, we still don't know if its a boy or a girl."

"Well, that cat may or may not be a menace."

Jade sighed heavily at Henry's dated reference, muttering, "Henry the hipster, trying to make dated references and say, 'Oh, no one understands my humor! Woe is me.'"

"Hey! I heard that!" Henry chuckled, and Jade could not help but laugh too. "I'll miss spending time with you, Henry. And the rest of our friends. Even though they're mostly just your friends-"

"Hey now, don't start that. You know they miss you." Jade rolled her eyes. _Then they would have came to the going away party, but none of came, now did they?_

"Okay... Now, what was so much more important than my cat mishap that you needed to stop my fussing?"

"Well, I noticed something. No matter what though, you have to promise you will NOT get worked up and anxious like you do."

"Yikes-"

"Don't 'yikes' me! That's so annoying..."

"Get on with it, then!" Trying to keep composed, Jade was, in all reality, dreading what Henry had to say.

"Well... News is, some of the people that were supposed to be moving to the L.A. area for that job like you got laid off. There's a whole revolution going on back here. People are furious. And they're apparently also cutting off people who are still moving, and already out there..."

"...What..."

"I'm not saying you're going to get laid off, Jade, just-... Don't be expecting it, but know what you're getting yourself into. I'm sure they won't lay you off, especially if they haven't done it yet. About thirty people back here have already gotten laid off, so I'm almost sure you won't. And they wouldn't do that to you, right? You're already moved out there and checked in with your workplace right?"

"...No. I haven't called yet. You were the first person I called."

"Shit... Well, they won't lay you off, Jade. I don't think they will..."

"Okay..." Jade was tense with paranoia again, staring at the table in disbelief. "Henry, is it okay if I call you back..? I'm gonna check in with work..."

"That's fine. Do that immediately. I'll talk to you later." Henry immediately hung up, and Jade snapped back into reality as she realize the cat had gotten closer and started licking her forehead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> our baby dan makes his first appearance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello  
> i decided that if this story gets enough recognition ill keep writing it (i already have a few chapters outlined n stuff)  
> but im afraid not very many people are going to like it simply because its not short or anything, its gonna be a hella slow build cause quick builds are too cheesy and cliche  
> but yes pls give feedback about my writing i would love some criticism since i havent written genuinely in years almost

With her head in her hands, Jade began to sob. 

Sure, she was in her dream city, but with no job, and barely enough money for a month and a half. After calling her job, she had tried to ask about her position, and gave them her name and info, and she wasn't even on the list of employees! They had completely wiped her of all records, and the lady then started to say about, "If you meant to give me credentials for hiring, I'm sorry, ma'am, but we are not hiring. We have reached full capacity with our job openings, and are already trying to eliminate some of the workers we have hired beforehand." This led to Jade screaming into the phone that she was one of the workers they had laid off, "Your bullshit company led me out here, paying me a measly 7,000 dollars to get started, and then laid me off without ANY warning! None! Nothing! What am I supposed to do now?! Go back home?! After moving out here with all of my belongings?! After paying a moving company to take all of my furniture out here before I came?! Do you have any idea how much that cost me?! No, no, I'm sure you don't, considering YOU out of all people get to keep YOUR job! While I sit here and SUFFER!" She had angrily hung up her phone after that, throwing it onto the floor, which was thankfully covered in plush carpet that would keep her phone from shattering into a thousand pieces.

And now, she was a sobbing mess.

With a cat that she wouldn't be able to feed.

Her brown hair cascaded around her and she curled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, her makeup smeared down her face. The cat had ran away in fear when she started screaming, so it was nowhere to be found. Somehow, that made her feel even worse.

Leaning off of her chair to pick up her phone up, Jade sniffled and wiped the tears off of her face and onto her pants, creating a dark smear that would surely stain. "Oh, fucking grand, real grand." She put her phone down and started sobbing again, frustrated with life in general. She tried to think of what was going to happen.

I can't move back home, my parents will frown upon me even more... 'I told you, Jade, you should have become a doctor, or a lawyer, or something of actual worth! Not just some manager for a company!'... And Henry's friends... They think I'm an even bigger idiot... Do I even have enough money to pay for the trip back? Or for the furniture back too? What do I tell the landlord? Oh god, my neighbors probably heard me screaming, what have I done? Oh no, oh, god, no-

Jade was removed from her thoughts as the doorbell rang.

Fuck me, that's probably one of them! What have I done? They're probably coming to yell at me... I'll forever be known as the loud girl in apartment 112 to all of them!

She let out one last sob before composing herself, heading to the mirror in the bathroom quickly to see herself.

And boy, she was a mess.  
Her hair was still in the state is was before, just a little tousled, but her makeup was a mess, mascara running down her face with eyeliner too, and her eyes were red and puffy. She quickly wet some toilet paper and tried to clean her face, but could only remove so much without some proper soap and makeup remover pads. She sighed heavily at the sight of herself, continuing to try and fix herself up before the doorbell rang again.

"Coming!" she tried to yell in a greeting way, but ended up sounding broken and upset, seeing as how she had been sobbing. She groaned at herself, looking in the mirror in defeat, before slouching her way out to the door and opening it slowly.

She was greeted with a mass of tall, handsome, and messy hair.


	3. Chapter 3

"H... Hello." She managed to squeeze out a reply.

"Oh, um, hi. Sorry if I'm bothering you, it's just... My roommate and I heard some rather loud yelling and wondered if you were okay. Our landlord told us that we'd have a new neighbor coming in today, so, nice to meet you."

_His voice... My god..._

Jade's face turned red. She could feel the embarrassed heat all through her body, and she knew she must have looked atrocious. Meanwhile, he was wearing a black shirt that fit him perfectly and dark blue jeans, with a belt around his waist and a necklace adorning his perfect neck. His messy hair accompanied his face structure perfectly; defined jawline, defined nose, stubble, sharp eyebrows, deep, dark brown eyes...

Perfect.

"Nice to meet you, too..."

"My name is Dan, but you can call my Danny." _Danny... **So** perfect._

"Okay..."

"Well, uh..."

"O-Oh- Sorry, my name is Jade- I'm really sorry- I just..." She sighed defeatedly and closed her eyes, putting her head down. "Yes, that was me screaming, I just got laid off from work, so I'm totally out of it."

Surprisingly, he chuckled instead of... Whatever Jade was expecting. "It's fine, I understand," he put his hands into his pockets, trying to be casual, "I've been there before." Jade looked up at him, and his smile still remained beautifully planted on his face, and Jade knew she was screwed. Awkward silence remained before Jade scrambled to the worst possible question, "Would you like to come in?"

"Well, I suppose I have a few minutes. Anything for a pretty lady."

_Pretty lady?!_

Jade's face lit up again, and she nodded before opening up the door more and moving from the doorway, realizing her mistake. She barely even had any furniture in the house, and had no food or anything to drink. She didn't even have glasses to drink with, so he couldn't even have tap water.

He smiled at her before sitting down at the table in the kitchen. His long legs made it a little difficult, but he was fine after a little bit of wriggling around. "I would offer you something to drink, but... I don't even have any glasses yet. The guys who moved me out here ended up dropping the box with my glasses and other dishes, so the only thing I have is silverware." Jade tried to make small talk, but felt like a horrible house owner for not having anything to give him. Thankfully, he didn't view it that way.

"Don't worry, Jade," his voice saying her name was music to her ears, and she tried to hide her blush by turning around and acting like she was looking for something,"I understand completely. Oh!" Her eyes widened at Dan's exclamation, wondering what had gone wrong. She turned back around, only to see that Dan was petting her new found cat. "Aw, I didn't know you had a cat."

"Well, uh... He's- Its not exactly mine. It was here when I came in and I don't have the heart to get rid of it."

"Animal lover? Sweet." He smiled, looking at Jade from the corner of his eye before paying attention to the cat again. Jade sighed inwardly, thankful that something had distracted Dan and would keep things from getting awkward really fast.

"I do really love animals... I don't want to put him- it... in a shelter, and I won't kick it out, considering it was here before me." She smiled awkwardly, and Dan chuckled, continuing to pet the cat before it suddenly skittered off back to the bedroom. "I'd love to have a pet, but my roommate doesn't quite agree." Jade's heart sank as she realized that maybe his roommate was his girlfriend or something. "Oh..? Why's that?" Jade asked, a little bummed. They were finally getting along and she started to realize that a man this attractive could no way in hell not have a girlfriend. Then again, he had called her a pretty lady...

"Well, he thinks the pet would end up being very neglected, seeing as we spend a lot of time at the office." _Oh... So it's not his girlfriend._ The mood lightened a little bit as Jade got over her ridiculous assumptions and tried to concentrate on conversing.

"So... What job were you working that you got laid off in?" Dan asked, sitting back in the chair. Jade bit her lip.

"Well, uh, I was one of the managers for this company that just got a new building out here in the L.A. area, and it turns out they hired too many people, and had to cut off a lot of the workers. I got cut off, even though I moved from the East Coast to the West Coast and spent a lot of the money they gave me to move just getting out here. So I might not be able to afford the trip back. Even then, I don't really want to move back..." Jade sighed, leaning back on the counter before looking at Dan, seeing he was listening intently. She blushed. _He has really nice hands... Wait... His thumbs... Whoa... That's a little different..._

"So basically your job screwed you over?" His voice snapped her out of her staring and she nodded, "Essentially, yes. They moved me out here and now I have a very slim chance of getting back. And when I get back, my parents are probably going to have my ass, which is why I really don't want to move back."

"Yeah, I understand that. My parents used to be that way with my work until they realized that I actually do make a good living off of it and that it's not just an online thing."

"An online thing?" Jade was curious and confused. What work did he do that his parents didn't believe was a good job?

"I do online comedy videos. On YouTube. I'm also in two bands." He blushed lightly, scratching the back of his head. "I would let you know what the channel and bands are called, but I wouldn't want you being scared of me and my dick jokes if you look them up." He laughed nervously, looking at Jade. She smiled and laughed softly. "My best friend likes to update me on his sex life every other day, Danny, it can't be any worse than some of the things he's told me." She raised her eyebrows and made a face, and he laughed.

"The channel is called Game Grumps. We do walk-throughs of video games. The two bands are Ninja Sex Party and Starbomb. Comedy bands." Jade giggled a little, feeling like a kid again when she said, "I suppose Ninja Sex Party is the place where you make the most dick jokes?" Dan laughed, nodding. "Yes, definitely. I mean, my stage name is Danny Sexbang, so it kinda comes with the title." Jade laughed again, "Danny Sexbang? What kind of name is that? Oh, and let me guess, Danny Sexbang loves sex, doesn't he?" She started to giggle, Dan's laughter ringing in her ears. It was a beautiful sound.

"You're right on the money there, baby cakes." Jade blushed at the pet name, continuing to giggle.

_So maybe this day wasn't so bad after all. I made a new friend, an attractive one at that, and he's flirting with me. And probably doesn't have a girlfriend._


	4. Chapter 4

After a few more minutes of laughter and giggles, Dan had declared that it was time for him to go back to his apartment before his roommate started to worry that Jade had "eaten Danny for dinner".

"You never know, vampires can be very, very alluring and attractive. And you look like you have a very sharp pair of canines. And not once did I see you look into a mirror!" Jade laughed again, continuing to blush at all of Dan's small advances. He seemed very, very flirty, and extremely talented at it.

"Well, Jade, I'll see you around. Maybe tomorrow when I come home from work I'll stop by." Dan smiled down at her as he stood in the doorway, about to leave. "By the way, I'll look out and see if I can find any well paying jobs for you. I know a few people around here." Jade nodded. "Thank you, Danny."

His smile got even brighter, and Jade blushed as he wrapped her in a hug. "You're welcome, girl. Knock anytime you need. Well, actually, hold on-" He took out his phone, and starting scrolling through some things before handing it to her, the contacts open. "Put in your number and I'll text you so you have my contact info, then you can get ahold of me if you need anything." Jade blushed even more at the kind gesture, taking the phone and putting in her number before handing it back. "Thank you, Danny." He smiled again. "Like I said before, you're welcome, girl." He fully stepped outside. "I'll see you around, Jade." Jade nodded, smiling at him. "See you around, Danny." He walked back to apartment, waving to her before he opened the door and stepped inside, Jade watching him the whole time.

_Sweet merciful Christ..._

Closing her door, she locked it and pressed her back to the wall. She heard a ding from the kitchen where her phone was, and scrambled to get there. _Danny, Danny, Danny..._

_Hey, baby cakes._

* * *

Jade spent the whole night awake in bed. The interaction with Danny had left her with a buzz that she hadn't gotten since high school. It was like she was a teenager again, young and carefree, without a worry in the world. Danny gave her that feeling, and she loved it.

It was almost 3 in the morning now, and she couldn't sleep. She had Dan on her mind, completely wrapped up in what he was talking about. _Game Grumps, Ninja Sex Party, Starbomb..._

_That's what I need to do._

Jade got out of bed, heading to her bag in the corner, pulling out her laptop. She almost pissed herself when something brushed up against her leg, but she realized it was the cat.

"I need to find out what gender you are, buddy..." The cat meowed in response, making Jade smile before she went back to bed and crawled in, laptop in hand. Once she was comfy, she opened the screen and was blinded by a bright white light, squinting with a groan before adjusting the brightness to a lower one. Logging in, she waited as it loaded, the cat crawling into bed with her and lying on its back next to her. She looked down. _Oh! So it's definitely a boy. Well. At least I don't have to worry about neutering it._

Her attention was brought back to the computer as it made a loud ding noise that hurt her ears, and she proceeded to turn down the volume before opening a browser and going to YouTube.

_Game Grumps..._

She typed in on the search bar, and clicked on the channel with a little over 3 million subscribers.

'Hey, I'm Grump, I'm Not So Grump, and we're the Game Grumps...'

Jade smiled as Not So Grump flew across the screen. _Definitely Danny._


End file.
